2018 Stars of the Corps: Houston Ballet's Andrew Vecseri

It's hard not to notice Houston Ballet's Andrew Vecseri. With his strapping good looks, athletic build and confidence, Vecseri has a way of standing out in ensemble work without stealing the show. Whether he's dancing in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling or juggling multiple ballets in mixed rep evenings, he comes across as a natural leader onstage. And while he's only in his second full season in the company, he has already started to step out of the corps, taking on a lead divertissement in The Nutcracker.

A Houston native, Vecseri feels lucky to have found a company so close to home. He trained at Houston Ballet Academy, advancing quickly into Houston Ballet II before joining the company in 2017. "I've really come to the realization, now being in the corps, that with more roles come more challenges, and to really embrace those challenges because that's what's going to make me a better dancer," he says.

Master pointe shoe fitter Josephine Lee of the California-based ThePointeShop chats with Ballet West soloist Chelsea Keefer to hear about how she prepares her pointe shoes. Keefer offers lots of darning tips, and shares all of the unusual ways that she uses rosin.

Today's ballet dancer needs a lot from a pointe shoe. "What I did 20 years ago is not what these dancers are doing now," says New York City Ballet shoe manager Linnette Roe. "They are expected to go harder, longer days. They are expected to go from sneakers, to pointe shoes, to character shoes, to barefoot and back to pointe shoes all in a day."

The team at BLOCH developed their line of Stretch Pointe shoes to address dancer's most common complaints about the fit and performance of their pointe shoes. "It's a scientific take on the pointe shoe," says Roe. Dancers are taking notice and Stretch Pointe shoes are now worn by stars like American Ballet Theatre principal Isabella Boylston, who stars in BLOCH's latest campaign for the shoes.

We dug into the details of Stretch Pointe's most game-changing features:

Earlier this year, we shared that photographer Dane Shitagi's Ballerina Project—his gorgeous, ongoing collection of dance photos that have dominated our Instagram feeds for years—would be coming to an end. But all is not lost—startingSeptember 17, you can enjoy over 170 of these photographs in Ballerina Project, a stunning new book showcasing Shitagi's work.

Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution might not seem like a natural fit for the ballet stage. But that's exactly the topic of one of choreographer Kathryn Posin's three new ballets, scheduled to premiere at New York City's 92nd Street Y September 13-14.